Dopson nabs Stanley’s top 16-17 player

Sevenhill Seahorses skipper Michael Dopson collected his second Shelley Nitschke Stanley Cricket Association Player of the Year award following a strong minor round where he scored two centuries and made 630 runs, along with securing 10 scalps with his handy leg spinners.

Dopson won with 18 votes, two ahead of veteran Brinkworth/Koolunga all-rounder Paul Meyer, who had won the Cricketer of the Year award three times previously.

This was Dopson’s second Shelley Nitschke after winning a first for his performances in the 2014-15 summer.

“Statistically, the figures were pretty close this year to 2014-15 from a batting perspective,” Dopson told the Northern Argus.

“We started well, but as a team and personally, but disappointingly we bowed out during the first week of the finals.

“I reckon it’s my fourth or fifth year at Sevenhill.

“I played at Immanuel College and Glenelg, and a season at Sturt – alongside Tommy and James Plant at the (SACA) Seahorses and with the Borgas brothers Cameron and James at Sturt, but then I had eight years off.

“An ACL and a broken leg in Year 12 wasn’t helpful either.

“In this association you need to really finish in the top two to win the title.

“We were top for two-thirds of the year and lost four of our last five games, which really hurt.

“But we’re building a strong culture at Sevenhill and all that is on our agenda is being competitive in the finals and the ultimate; winning a premiership.”

Dopson produced the first century of his career in the ‘14-15 campaign and over the summer just completed, including a hundred for Rocky River in the Country Cricket Championships, Dopson raised the bat, after reaching the “Holy Grail” three times.